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Kovu/Main article
Kovu is Scar's adopted son and the deuteragonist of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Appearance Kovu's fur is dark brown. He has a darker mane and tail-tip, as well as darker eye shades. His eyes are green and he has a dusky-brown muzzle, chest, and paws. In addition, patches of darker fur grow on both elbow joints in his forelegs. As a cub, he has a tuft of darker fur on his head. As he grows older, he obtains a muscular build. He has a scar across his left eye from which he received from Zira. Personality As a cub, Kovu was quite proud to be an Outsider, and he also didn't like his mother bullying his siblings. He also could make friends easily, but he was quite afraid of angered Pridelanders (such as trembling madly when he first met Simba). However, as he grew up, Zira was nearly successful in turning Kovu into a strong, fit lion, and the young lion had turned into a shell of his former self, caring for virtually nothing but the other Outsiders and becoming king, but this failed when Kovu tried to teach Kiara how to hunt. After this, Kovu turns into a much happier lion, but he has become afraid of becoming Scar. However, soon after the rhino stampede, he fell in love with Kiara, and thanks to this love, the two of them manage to stop the fight between their prides. Information Kovu is the son of Zira and an unknown lion. He is also the brother of Nuka and Vitani. He was originally intended to be the son of Scar, but this was changed as this would make him the cousin of Simba, and the first cousin once removed of Kiara, Simba's daughter. Instead, he became Scar's adopted son. Scar chose Kovu as the lion to follow in his pawprints and become king of the Pridelands before he died. He is voiced by Ryan O'Donohue as a cub and Jason Marsden as an adult. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Cub Kovu Kovu is a cub in the first half of Simba's Pride that has been exiled to The Outlands possibly due to his family's remaining loyalty to Scar. Zira, Kovu's mother, and her pride's loyalty to Scar do not actually appear in the original Lion King film, as when Simba returns from his life in the jungle, all the Pridelanders fight on his side and only the hyenas side with Scar. Zira is non-existent in the first Lion King film as are Kovu, Nuka, Vitani and the Outsiders although Zira briefly explains that their existence when she introduces Kovu to Simba. When he first appears in the film, he is out with his brother Nuka until he went off on his own and met Kiara, when she tumbles down from a log and crashes into him. Kovu reacts aggressively at first but soon begins to tease Kiara for being "daddy's little girl". As the two wander to a body of water they are attacked by crocodiles. The cubs evade the crocodiles and began to play, but are interrupted by Zira and Simba. The two confront each other, before picking up their cubs and leaving. Later, Zira yells at Kovu for being friendly towards a Pridelander. Kovu says that he thought that he and Kiara could become friends. Zira forms a plan to get Kovu into the Pridelands and kill Simba when he has gained enough trust. Meanwhile, Simba tells Kiara that they are "one". Adult Kovu Zira trains and conditions Kovu until he is grown. She sends him out to kill Simba along with Vitani and Nuka, who start a fire while Kiara is out on her first hunt. When the fire has taken hold, Zira sends Kovu out into the fire to rescue Kiara. Kovu manages to save Kiara and is confronted by Simba again, who reluctantly allows Kovu to join the pride. Kovu makes fun of Kiara's amateur hunting skills at first. But, with him loving Kiara, he later agrees to help her improve her skills. That night, Kovu appears in Simba's climatic nightmare. Simba attempts to help Mufasa from the gorge in which he died in the first film. Scar appears on the ledge, mocking and cackling at Simba's inability to help his father. After Mufasa falls, Scar morphs into Kovu and kills Simba by throwing him down into the gorge causing Simba to awake from his nightmare. The next day, Kovu prepares to attack Simba while Simba is alone and drinking from the water hole, but Kiara interrupts him to begin the hunting lesson. The pair soon stumble upon Timon and Pumbaa who are trying to chase some birds away from their favorite feeding site. The two lions roar, scattering the birds. They all chase the birds until angering a crash of rhinoceroses. In escaping from the rhinos, Kovu and Kiara accidentally kiss. That night Kovu and Kiara lie under stars and look at star formations. This leads them to offhandedly start talking about Kovu's past. Kiara starts to nuzzle him when he expresses his fear of becoming like Scar, but Kovu leaves when he is unable to tell her his true intentions. Rafiki intervenes and takes them to a place called Upendi, which means "love" in Swahili. As they venture back to Pride Rock, Kovu has Simba on his own. Now seeing a better life with Kiara in the Pride Lands, he refuses to attack Kiara's father. Vitani waits for Kovu to attack, and reports back to an angry Zira when he doesn't. The next morning, Kovu resolves to confess to Kiara his true reasons for coming to the Pride Lands and he has abandoned the plot. However, before Kovu can do so, Simba takes Kovu out for a walk through the fire-ravaged Pride Lands. As they walk, they discuss the true nature of Scar, but they are ambushed by Zira and the Outlanders. Zira congratulates Kovu, but Kovu panics as he realizes he inadvertently completed the plot he abandoned. Kovu attempts to save Simba, but Vitani knocks him into a rock, rendering him unconscious. Simba is attacked and falls into a gorge where a log dam is holding back the river. Simba climbs the log dam to safety and Kovu has a chance to attack him, but doesn't. Nuka, wanting to impress Zira, climbs the log dam and manages to grab Simba's ankle, but is killed when some logs dislodge and crush him. Zira blames Nuka's death on Kovu and slashes him across the face, giving Kovu a scar resembling Scar's. As Zira demands to her son to admit his responsibility for killing his brother, Kovu stands up to his mother for the first time and runs back to the Pride Lands, where he is promptly exiled by Simba. Kiara, distraught, runs away to find Kovu. The two meet in the grasslands and proclaim their love that transcends their pride's rivalry. Kovu wishes to run away with Kiara to start their own pride. Kiara refuses, saying that they must return to try and unite their divided prides. They both run back to the Pride Lands, crossing the log dam that has now been weakened, attempting to stop a fight between the two prides. Kovu and Kiara stop the fight, but Zira leaps at Simba. Kiara knocks her aside and the two tumble into a gorge where Zira refuses to take Kiara's paw and falls into the river and drowns. The now united prides return to Pride Rock where Kovu and Kiara are married, and he becomes her prince consort. With order restored, Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kovu roar out across the kingdom while the spirit of Mufasa praises his son for his wisdom. Voice Actors The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film) - Ryan O'Donohue (cub), Jason Marsden (adult), Gene Miller (adult singing voice) Trivia *He was originally scripted as the son of Scar, but realizing the incestuous undertones this would have had with his romance with Kiara (as Kovu would have been her 1st cousin once removed), it was scrapped and clarified that he had no relation to Scar, and was his adopted son. *Kovu is the only Outsider without his claws extended permanently. *His father's identity is unknown, but his many Pridelander features suggest a Pridelander could be his father. *Though not immediately noticeable, the scar he recieves from Zira serves no purpose or creates no symbolism in the film. Except for, of course, his relation to Scar, that is. *In the brief scene where Kovu mourns over Zira's death, his scar is not shown on his right eye. This is because the filmmakers reused the animation in which Kovu sighs before planning to tell Kiara about Zira's plan, and Kovu didn't have his scar at that point in the film. *Zira slashes Kovu horizontally yet his scar is vertical. Quotes Gallery 298001222-398100.jpg|Cub Kovu teasing cub Kiara Kovu.jpg|Grown up Kovu kovuzira2.jpg|Kovu with his mother, Zira 18465.png|Kovu leaps off the side of a cliff with Kiara Kovu Adult.jpg 18476.png|Adult Kovu 298001231-398100.jpg|Kovu and Kiara Kovu's_Scar.png|Kovu's Scar Accepteed.png|Kovu is accepted by Simba References : Category:Characters Category:Lions Category:Outsiders Category:Male Characters Category:Pridelanders Category:Protagonists